TV Series and Social Media: Powerful Engagement Factors in Mobile Video Games

The free-to-play business model has become hegemonic in the mobile video game industry, displacing the traditional paid content model that was the norm until the appearance of manufacturers’ app stores. Companies attempt to monetize these games by means of in-game micro-transactions and in-game advertising; thus, it is essential to acquire an enormous number of users because only a small percentage will ultimately make any purchases. To keep players engaged, companies typically put in place marketing and design strategies derived from behavioral telemetry, to maintain a grip on players. We propose an innovative approach, focusing our attention on the impact of having a video game based on a famous TV series. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of social networks on game metrics. The outcome indicates that developing a game based on a TV series and integrating social media with the gameplay improve and reinforce the user’s activation, retention and monetization

TV Series and Social Media: Powerful Engagement Factors in Mobile Video Games

The free-to-play business model has become hegemonic in the mobile video game industry, displacing the traditional paid content model that was the norm until the appearance of manufacturers' app stores. Companies attempt to monetize these games by means of in-game micro-transactions and in-game advertising; thus, it is essential to acquire an enormous number of users because only a small percentage will ultimately make any purchases. To keep players engaged, companies typically put in place marketing and design strategies derived from behavioral telemetry, to maintain a grip on players. We propose an innovative approach, focusing our attention on the impact of having a video game based on a famous TV series. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of social networks on game metrics. The outcome indicates that developing a game based on a TV series and integrating social media with the gameplay improve and reinforce the user's activation, retention and monetization

Playing in school or at home?

The goal of this study is to gain insight into the effects of context on educational game experience. Using a quasi-experimental setup, it compares the playing and learning experiences of adolescent players of the awareness-raising game PING in a domestic (N=135) and a school (N=121) context. Results indicate that both gaming (identification, enjoyment) and learning experiences are more intense in a home compared to a school context. However, all of the variance in gaming and part of that in learning experience are caused by longer playing times and better computer equipment. Moreover, the overall impact of context on perceived learning is significantly smaller than that of other experiential factors such as identification and enjoyment. Thus context should be considered as a significant yet relatively small determinant of learning experience

Character attachment in team-based first person shooter game with respect to the role in the combat among Korean young gamers

Character attachment have been studied thoroughly from the view of psychology and media researches. In game playing, the player-avatar relationship is a form of character attachment and affects a good game design as well as management systems such as character customizing and in game purchasing policy. In this paper, we investigate such player-avatar relationship on the theme of team-based FPS where in general the attachment is not expected to be high. However, from the online survey for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow 6 Siege mania groups, we find that there are different character attachment patterns with respect to the role of players in the team–attacker, defender, and supporter. It shows that attackers think avatar as an ‘object, but the defenders show more ‘avatar as others’ than the attackers. The supporters show high responsibility for the avatar and their play style is most like ‘avatar as symbiote’ manner

How do presence, flow, and character identification affect players’ empathy and interest in learning from a serious computer game?

This study develops and tests an integrated model of how three psychological variables—presence, flow, and character identification—contribute to interest in learning and empathy with people from other cultures through a simulation game. U.S. college students played one of two roles (an American journalist or Haitian survivor) in the game that dealt with the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Presence was a powerful predictor of flow, character identification, and empathy felt during the games. Furthermore, empathy experienced by game play significantly predicted interest in learning more about the game topics. Flow and identification made secondary contributions to learning outcomes, with flow mediating the effect of presence on males’ empathy and identification contributing to females’ interest in learning. While the proposed model was generally successful at predicting outcomes, it did a better job of accounting for the experience of participants who played a role rooted in their own culture (the journalist) than in a different culture (the survivor), and for female than male players. Our results suggest that serious game designers should prioritize inducing empathy and immersive presence in players, giving secondary attention to designing for flow and character identification

Emotional Gaming

In recent years, research on the psychology of gaming has examined the negative and positive outcomes of playing video games. Thus far, a variety of affective phenomena have been investigated. In this chapter we will continue this exploration by examining the emotions elicited by the act of playing video games. Because the study of emotions must rely on different type of methods, including subjective self-reports (e.g., description of feelings), neuropsychophysiological measurements (e.g. electromyography, skin conductance, heart rate, event-related potentials, functional magnetic resonance imaging), biological markers (e.g. cortisol, testosterone) and behaviours (e.g., facial expressions), we will cover all these distinct methods. We will explore how dimensional and categorical models of emotions have been used to identify the emotional responses of players, including their enjoyment experience. Expanding upon past research findings we will also discuss the social implications of gaming and suggest areas for future research.This chapter was supported by a grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (GRANT PTDC/PSI-PSO/099985/2008

Optimizing Player and Viewer Amusement in Suspense Video Games

Broadcast video games need to provide amusement to both players and audience. To achieve this, one of the most consumed genres is suspense, due to the psychological effects it has on both roles. Suspense is typically achieved in video games by controlling the amount of delivered information about the location of the threat. However, previous research suggests that players need more frequent information to reach similar amusement than viewers, even at the cost of jeopardizing viewers' engagement. In order to obtain models that maximize amusement for both interactive and passive audiences, we conducted an experiment in which a group of subjects played a suspenseful video game while another group watched it remotely. The subjects were asked to report their perceived suspense and amusement, and the data were used to obtain regression models for two common strategies to evoke suspense in video games: by alerting when the threat is approaching and by random circumstantial indications about the location of the threat. The results suggest that the optimal level is reached through randomly providing the minimal amount of information that still allows players to counteract the threat.We reckon that these results can be applied to a broad narrative media, beyond interactive games

More Than Stories With Buttons: Narrative, Mechanics, and Context as Determinants of Player Experience in Digital Games

Recent research has attempted to describe meaningful experiences with entertainment media that go beyond hedonic enjoyment. Most of this research focuses on noninteractive media, such as film and television. When applied to digital games, however, such research needs to account for not only the content of the medium, but also the unique dimensions of digital games that distinguish them from noninteractive media. Experiences with digital games are shaped by the game mechanics that define the users' interaction with game content, as well as by the opportunities for social interaction that many games offer. We argue that the complex interplay of these dimensions (narrative, mechanics, and context) facilitates or inhibits meaningful user experiences in ways that are unique to digital games